Japan PM hopeful Kishida leads in LDP lawmaker support: poll

Divided party makes runoff likely for Wednesday election

Fumio Kishida, right, holds the most support from lawmakers in the Sept. 29 LDP leadership election while Taro Kono, left, enjoys strong backing from rank-and-file voters. © Reuters

Nikkei staff writers

September 28, 2021 03:44 JST

TOKYO -- Over 120 ruling Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers plan to back former party policy chief Fumio Kishida in the LDP presidential election, putting him ahead of the pack in with 30% parliamentary support, a Nikkei/TV Tokyo survey on Monday found.

Administrative reform minister Taro Kono followed Kishida with more than 100, or over 20%, of parliamentary votes, while former internal affairs minister Sanae Takaichi appears likely to garner around 20%.